I was playing more Halo 3 on my 360 last night and I was getting frustrated by the auto aim.  Yes, dual analog was not designed to aim quickly or efficiently, but I'm at terms with that and I don't mind.  I don't see why it needs to be compensated for so much.  Most of the enemies in Halo 3 already move like they're in slow motion, giving players plenty of time to aim (this is in stark contrast with, for example, Metroid Prime 3 where you have to aim very precisely and very quickly while dodging attacks).

The auto aim is egregious.  I employ the "flick" method to aim and somehow I was 'tracking' slow-moving enemies through the air.  I don't want the game to aim for me.  The enemies barely move as it is.

For those of you who have played Metroid Prime 3 and Halo 3, do you find the contrast stark?  In MP3 the enemies and bosses  moved so quickly and required such accurate aiming that I'm more used to fast-paced precision than enemies moving in slow motion and the game aiming for you.  The ice boss in Metroid Prime 3 is a perfect example of how fast bosses can be, and the boss with the "eyes" that you have to shoot is a perfect example of the precision required.

I realize that the Wii mote has a natural advantage over the 360's controller for shooters, but I still think the constast between the two games is amazing.

LOL. They toned it down since Halo 2. Sniping is much harder in Halo 3 than 2. There are a few occasions where I will be trying to shoot a barrel and my crosshairs get dragged towards an enemy but it is few and far between. It doesn't really matter since everyone is affected by it.  And Halo multiplayer is not completely about twitch gameplay.  If you want that play UT games.  Halo 3 is about strategy, balance, and communication.

I would say it is more noticeable during the campaign play. But during multi-player the game is much quicker and intense, so the aim assist is not an issue, (for me that is).

Agree.  I have never had a problem with it because no matter what for some reason, I can't aim away from their head.  I guess I was born like that, I don't know though.

I dont know about you, but Halo 3 on legendary was pretty damn hard. I don't really remember if it was as hard as Metroid Prime 3 on Hyper Mode, but from what I remember, Halo had a lot more enemies, but the enemies in Metroid were a lot faster and more challenging on an individual basis.

if only they could combine the two. =/

The combat in Metroid was a hell of a lot more fun though.

Whether you like it or not developers have toned down the difficulty in games to attract more people to gaming.

There is "aim assist" but if it didn't have it, it would be impossible to play. Try trying to shoot your teammates while they run aimlessly around (no aim assist there). You are making it sound x5 worse than it is. Auto aim is like metroid prime ......... waits...

I really didn't notice the auto-aim thing until I started playing online. It has screwed me up a few times when I'm aiming at an opponent. I'll be aiming and then another opponent runs through the cursor, dragging it off of my original target. I really should just check the options and cut the darn thing off completely.

uh, then shooting at all will be difficult eh?

You can't.  Dual analog is a poor control method for shooters and, like others have said, you wouldn't be able to hit anything without the game aiming for you.  Your best bet is to just have the sensitivity set high and try to flick past your enemies and it will begin tracking on them.  It's a different method than actually aiming at them, but that's Halo I guess.

I don't know, I guess I'm just used to a more hardcore shooting experience like Metroid Prime 3.  It doesn't do auto-aim and it requires you to be a hell of a lot more precise.  Sure, you can lock on (lock on free-aim for bosses), but it's not helpful except in tracking where the hell the enemy is moving because you usually have to lead them manually.  Auto aim would actually make you usually miss in Metroid Prime 3.